With the increase in Delta Variant cases, the Houston school requires all students, faculty and staff to wear masks

The board of directors of the most university district in Texas voted on Thursday to support a mask requirement recommended by its supervisor before the start of the school district’s fall semester later this month.

When Millard House, director of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), made the mask request, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was increasingly concerned about COVID-19 Delta variants.CDC) Is marked as more contagious than other variants.Although the CDC recommends that all students and teachers wear masks in the classroom, the governor of Texas Greg Abbott An executive order was issued last month stating that schools cannot require individuals to wear masks.

Houston area is One of several In Texas, they decided to implement mask regulations regardless of Abbott’s orders. HISD has 276 schools and more than 196,000 students, making it the seventh university district in the country.

House announced his mask authorization plan last week. In a letter to school district community members, House wrote that the health of all students and school staff is the “compass” for the decisions he and other school officials make before students return to class.

House said that his proposed authorization will apply to “all schools, buses and facilities students, staff and visitors” in the area, regardless of everyone’s vaccination status. The House of Representatives asked school board members to vote for his proposed tasks at the next board meeting on Thursday night. Before voting, board members listened to the opinions of parents, students, teachers, and other members of the local community. They expressed emotional support and opposition to the task. Some parents begged HISD to “ignore” Abbott’s order, while others Support the governor and tell the board, “You work for us.”

Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas also made a virtual appearance at the beginning of the public comment period, expressing her support for the House’s recommendation to wear a mask.

“I welcome the authorization you might decide in the end,” Jackson Lee said. “This will be a decision of the board, but I hope that will be the case. If it is, I will tell you that you are doing the right thing.”

After the public comment, the board members voted in favor of the House of Representatives’ mask authorization.

In the letter announcing this mission in early August, House referred to the mayor of Houston’s recent announcement to raise the city’s COVID-19 threat level and stated that more precautions are needed to protect communities in the area from the spread of the virus. He reiterated his concerns about the spread of the virus in a TV conversation with the media. CNNof Anderson Cooper Tuesday.

“For us, it is very important for us to really make a change and stick to what we think is the right position,” House told Cooper.

Before the HISD school board voted, Abbott said that school districts that ignore his executive order will face legal challenges.

“Any school district, public university, or local government official who decides to defy GA-38-the bill prohibits government entities from mandating masks-will be taken to court,” Abbott wrote on Twitter. “The way forward depends on personal responsibility, not government orders.”

Abbott’s press secretary Renae Eze reiterated the Republican governor’s emphasis on personal responsibility for the use of masks when contacted for further comment.

“We are all working hard to protect the children of Texas and the most vulnerable among us, but violating the governor’s executive order-and violating the rights of parents-is not the solution to the problem,” Eze shared with others Said in a statement. Weekly newspaper“Governor Abbott has made it clear that the era of mandatory masks is over; now is the time to take personal responsibility. Parents and guardians have the right to decide whether their children wear masks, just like any other decision of their children.”

Eze’s statement continues to push unvaccinated Texas residents to consider changing their vaccination status.

“Governor Abbott has been fighting for the rights and freedoms of all Texans during his tenure, and our office will continue to work with the attorney general’s office to do this,” she said. “The best defense against this virus is the COVID vaccine, and we continue to strongly encourage all eligible Texans to get vaccinated.”